Holy Name of Mary Parish's OLLH Summer Festival starts July 27

HARBOR BEACH — The Our Lady of Lake Huron Summer Festival is celebrating its 25th year, and the silver anniversary is sure to be one for the books.

“It really says that our parish community supports the school that we have, which is really great to see,” said PR Director DeAnna Wruble of the festival entering its 25th year. “My family and I lived in Grand Rapids, and one of the reasons that we moved back to Harbor Beach, is that we were born and raised here. Sending our kids to Our Lady of Lake Huron wasn’t even a question because of the community support.”

The festival starts on Friday, July 27, and runs through that weekend.

The first event on Friday is the Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament, which will start at 7 p.m. Starting at 6 p.m., the refreshment and food tent will be open.

On Saturday, the fun kicks off with the silent auction, and at 10 a.m., the live auction will start.

According to Wruble, the items at the auction include “all kinds of items for kids.”

A complete list of items in the auction can be found on the OLLH Summer Festival Facebook page.

The fun will continue on Saturday, as there is bingo from 1 to 8:30 p.m. A bocce ball tournament will be held starting at 6 pm. Also starting at 6 p.m. is the Vegas-style adult games of 7-card stud, black jack, and the big six wheel.

The evening will be capped off with a performance from DJ Afrothunder.

“DJ Afrothunder was brought in because he was so popular with the crowd last year,” Wruble said. “He decided to come back again and we’re happy to have him.”

The Sunday festivities begin at 10:30 a.m. with the Polka Mass, which will be held outdoors, weather permitting.

“The polka mass is one of the highlights of the festival,” Wruble said. “It’s traditional Catholic mass, only the music is offered in conjunction with the polka band. It’s really great because it gets toes tapping during mass, which isn’t something you would expect during a Catholic mass. Then right after that, we have the chicken and pork dinner, which Al’s Restaurant has graciously stepped in to help with every year.”

The dinner begins right after mass, at noon.

The Vegas-style games will continue starting at 11:30 a.m. and bingo will resume at 1 p.m. and will run until 4 p.m.

Live polka music performed by Benny Prill & Friends will be held on Sunday afternoon, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday is also Kid’s Day at the festival.

“Sunday is the day for kids,” Wruble said. “This year, we had a couple of families step up anonymously, so that now not only can kids play games, they can be entered into a raffle to win bikes that were donated by the families.”

The Kiddie Pedal Pull starts at 1 p.m., and games and other activities begin at 11:30 a.m.

A raffle drawing for either a $5,000 cash prize or a $6,000 gift certificate to Ray C’s Extreme Store will be held at 5 p.m.

Overall, Wruble feels that the festival will be good family fun from start to finish.

“If you’re thinking about attending and you’re not sure which day to attend, any of the days offer fun,” Wruble said. “There is a food tent on Saturday, there’s the auction and the entertainment. If that’s not your thing, you can come out on Sunday, hear the polka band, come to mass and have a wonderful dinner. Any day, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, you’re going to see community support.”

For more information about the festival, check out the OLLH Summer Festival Faccebook page.